How to be sensible? Best possible start

[rainbow]

Hi all. I am thinking of trying for a baby and I'm trying to find out everything I can to give the baby the best possible start. I know there are things I can be doing even now before I start trying such as improving my fitness & eating habits, checking my immunisations and staying off the pill for a while. Can anyone add anything to this list? I want to do this right.
Thank you! :)

[Lallas' Mum]

Folate tablets are a must. It is recomended you start taking them up to three months before hand. The actually help reduce the instance of spina bifida. I recently had a friend who conceived a child with severe spina bifida (along with other complications) so I can not stress enough to take folate.

As for other things - it sounds like you are on top of things. A papsmear test isn't a bad idea either.

All in all I would make my list to be.

Take daily folate tablets!!!
Get a check up with your GP - check your immunisation is up to date and have a papsmear test done. It may be a good idea to have a blood test done to check things like iron and calcium levels.
Take a look at you lifestyle - weight, fitness, eating habits
Reduce or preferably cut out alcohol intake, smoking and caffeine intake. (Caffeine in larger doses has been known to cause conception issues)
Cut down on stress levels. (This is often overlooked by too many people these days.)
Have fun trying!!!!!:D

I hope all turns out well for you. I am an avid researcher and reader so if I come across anything else I'll be sure to post.

Good luck!!

Tracey
:) Mum to Alec (Lalla) 18 months and Bub due May 3rd

[rainbow]

Thank you so much!
I was delighted to find out that you are an avid researcher.
Could you possibly share some research highlights?
Such as...
* very best book
* best web site other than this one
* most interesting thing that most people don't realise
* something you wish you knew earlier
* top favourite piece of advice
... or whatever!
Cooool!
Thanks!

[Lallas' Mum]

Hello again.

I didn't get stuck into too many text or reference books while pregnant. I actually got a lot of my information about pregnancy from parenting magazines to begin with. I found Mother and Baby and Practical Parenting the better of them. As for books though I found "Baby on Board" by Dr Howard Chilton the very best source of info. It offers very up to date info on your brand new baby that covers everything from the very moment your bub pops out onward through the first few months. It helped me not to panic about trivial common things and told me what to expect in regards to what the bub would look like when first born, emotions I may experience and other physicla developments both for me and bub. That book became my bible.
As for websites I think that this is the very best. If you have a particular topic you're interested in though I found that dropping that topic in a google search was most effective.
The most interesting thing I discovered along the way is about burping babies. The valve between the stomach and gullet in the babies is extremely inefficient (but gets better tone later on). It isn't strong enough to hold back very much at all (thus why babies vomit so easily and so often). So air bubbles can't actually get "trapped". All you need to do after feeding bub is sit them up. Patting them on the back doesn't do much at all.
Something I wish I knew earlier was that if a baby sleeps past a feed after they are a couple of months old, DO NOT wake them up to feed them. Trust me all hell will break loose. When bub is hungry they will wake up.
Something that you don't hear mentioned much is that babies' fist can get very smelly. They keep them so clenched up to begin with and suck on them and sweat - so by the time you finally pry them open the smell is horrible. To overcome this I put a little baby wash on my finger while bathing and slipped it into bub's fist to clean it. Another piece of advice that you don't hear often - after you have given birth, if you have stitches from vaginal tears it hurts less if you pee in the shower. (a bit too honest I know but hey it works).

If you have any more questions just post!

Tracey
:) Mum to Alec (Lalla) 18 months and bub due May 2nd

[mummy hopeful]

Hi there
I too, am trying to start a family and I have found the book 'The Natural Way to a Better Pregnancy' by Francesca Naish & Janette Roberts full of wonderful information on pregnancy and pre-conception care. Give it a go ... also, 'Up the Duff' by Kaz Cooke is a very frank and honest way of looking at pregnancy (and at times, a great laugh!)
Hope this helps ;)